Jeff posted this last night and I want to make sure everyone gets to read it. Grab the tissues.

"This is a tough one and I do it with an extremely heavy heart. I lost my wife, mother of our children and best friend on July 19th. The turn out for Karins services just confirms to me that I truly am the luckiest man alive being able to spend most of my life with her. You all have made this process a bit easier and I can never thank you enough so I simply but sincerely say...THANK YOU!I have truly been blessed... "

IF you registered for the Run that took place in May and either sent me an email or put your name on a list to receive the Run t-shirt, please call Jamie at 925-642-5444. Please do not call Jamie if you did not register for the Run as we have no extra t-shirts. If you give Jamie your name we can check it to our list and then we can arrange you getting your shirt. I apologize for the delay in these shirts, it is a long story. :) Please accept our apologies.

Jeff and the kids are hanging in there, trying to stay busy. It is a long road ahead of them, and God is faithful.

I keep forgetting to post to say a big "Thank You" to all those that prepared food for the Celebration service. Even though there were 1700 people in attendance, we still had plenty of food. Thank you!!! I would love to write each of you a personal note. I can't imagine how long that would take me! Know that you are appreciated.

We are starting a new meals list for the Carters. If you are interested in preparing a meal for them, please email me your name and phone number and you will be added to the list. If you were on the list previously please email me again, and let me know you want to be on the list again. If you emailed me in the last couple of days asking about meals, email me again. I have received about 300 emails in the last week, so please forgive me for asking you to email me again. :) My email is bethey12@yahoo.com. Thank you sooooooo much for helping.

Also, I want to say a BIG THANK YOU!! to everyone for coming today and celebrating Karin's life! Jeff said that the head count was 1700!!! He also added that the pastor said he had never done a service with that high of a turnout. That makes the Run look like a small gathering! Thank you so much. Jeff and the entire family feel the support! You guys are awesome!

Just a quick reminder about the Comedy for a Cause Night at Tommy T's. It is still happening! Karin loved to laugh and have fun, so we can do it in her honor! All proceeds go to the Karin L. Carter Hope Fund. Here is the orginal post:

Fun News!A friend of Jeff & Karin's, Martha, is planning a Comedy for a Cause night on August 9th at 8pm at Tommy T's in Pleasanton. Dinner can be purchased for an add'l charge, and that would be at 6pm. Tickets must be purchased through Martha & 100% of the profits will go directly to the Karin L. Carter Hope Fund. Do NOT purchase your tickets through the club, as the money will go to the Club and not the Hope Fund. Each ticket is $30. There are a limited amount of tickets so act quickly! You can contact Martha for more information at (925)314-2432

Thank you everyone for the support that you have shown Jeff and the family over the last couple days. Please continue to pray for them as they adjust to life without Karin. It is hard to even write that sentence.

Tomorrow is Pink Day!!!!! Karin would love that. She would probably be fussing over all the attention we are giving her but she would have to get over that! ;)

If you want to make a donation to Gateway Christian School (in lieu of flowers) please put in the memo line, "Salina and Noah Carter Tuiton". You may also make a donation to the Karin L. Carter Hope Fund. Please email me at bethey12@yahoo.com or call Jamie at 925-642-5444.

I spoke with Jeff a little while ago and he said that the whole town of Brentwood is sold out of pink shirts! :)

If you still want to bring food for the Celebration service, that is great. The only thing we still need is vegetable platters or deviled eggs (why do they call them that?). No need to let us know you are bringing it, just bring it with you when you come to the church.

Also, originally we had been told to bring food to the church at 10AM on the morning of the service, however, we have just learned that 10:30AM is a better time for the people organizing the food.

Don't forget - Wednesday is wear pink day!!

Just a reminder:
Please do not send anything to the Carter house, other than cards. Please, no flowers, no food. In lieu of flowers you can make a donation to the Karin L. Carter Hope Fund or to Gateway Christian School, either of which will benefit the Carter children. If you would like to make a donation to Gateway you may mail a check to GCS, 2401 Shady Willow Lane, Brentwood, CA 94513. Please write in the memo section, "in celebration of Karin Carter". If you would like to make a donation to the Karin L. Carter Hope Fund you may send it to Karin L. Carter Hope Fund, Bank of America, 241 Oak Street, Brentwood, CA 94513.

Romans 8:28. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

We are good on salads for the Celebration. We still need rolls, meat platters & cheese platters. Please email me if you would like to help.
In case I forgot to tell you via email, food should be dropped off at the church by 10AM on the morning of the service.
Please continue to pray for Jeff, Salina, Noah and the entire extended family. They still need covering.

The Celebration Service for the life of Karin Carter will be held on Wednesday, July 25th at 11:00 am at Golden Hills Community Church in Brentwood. The address of the church is 2401 Shady Willow Lane. Reception to follow within the church.

Please do not send anything to the Carter house, other than cards. Please, no flowers, no food. In lieu of flowers you can make a donation to the Karin L. Carter Hope Fund or to Gateway Christian School, either of which will benefit the Carter children. If you would like to make a donation to Gateway you may mail a check to GCS, 2401 Shady Willow Lane, Brentwood, CA 94513. Please write in the memo section, "in celebration of Karin Carter". If you would like to make a donation to the Karin L. Carter Hope Fund you may send it to Karin L. Carter Hope Fund, Bank of America, 241 Oak Street, Brentwood, CA 94513.

If you would like to prepare food for the reception following the service, we would love that! You may email me at bethey12@yahoo.com or you may call Jamie at 925-642-5444. Specifically, we need meat & cheese platters, salads & sandwiches.

Karin's favorite color was pink. In keeping with celebrating her and her life, I would love to have as many people as possible wearing pink for the service. I think she would love that.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Psalm 115:15

Karin went to be with her Heavenly father this morning. Let me share something with you about Karin, in case you do not know. Every day Karin woke up early. Her normal waking time was in between 4 and 4:30 am. Ugh! Even when sick, she still got up at that time. This morning was no different. At 4:25am Karin "put on her running shoes" and is now running around Heaven, CANCER FREE. She is healed! She was surrounded by her family and was very peaceful as she left her earthly home.

We are waiting to hear confirmation of the date of a memorial service. That information will be posted as soon as it becomes available.

Please do not send flowers to the Carter house. I will have more information on an alternative when I post about the service.

All you have to do is read the comments on this blog to know that Karin has touched so many people her whole life, and especially in her journey over the last 4 months. Karin loved the Lord. Even in the midst of a storm, she loved Him no less. The same Heavenly Father that she loved, and is with right now, died on a cross for you and me also, so that we could one day see Karin again and spend an eternity with our Heavenly Father. It is free! And it is priceless. Read John 3:16. If you want me to pray with you about how to come into God's Kingdom, email me at bethey12@yahoo.com.

I know that people have been wondering what is going on in the hospital.
I just spoke with Enola who is at the hospital. After talking with pastors, doctors and parents, Jeff has made the difficult decision to remove Karin from life support. Karin has been unresponsive for almost 48 hours. Karin is in no pain and she has been very peaceful. Man has done everything that can be done for Karin, God is in control. For this we can be thankful. However this situation ends up, to God be the glory, great things He has done.
Please, please keep the family in prayer. Pray for God to comfort Salina and Noah and that He would make himself known to them. Please pray for Jeff. He is at peace but it is a hard situation.
When more information becomes available I will post it as soon as possible. The number one priority here is the children and so if information comes a little more slowly, know that that is the reason why.
I have a big, okay, giant platter on display in my kitchen. Karin bought it for me several years ago for my birthday. It has this verse on it: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight" Proverbs 3:5-6. I love the platter, always have. It reminds me of Karin. Being far away from her & her family has been hard, but seeing the platter makes me think of her. She loves that verse too. If she could I am sure she would remind us of that verse. It is our job to trust God, and acknowledge Him, everything else will fall into place.
Please respect the family's need for some alone time now. Cards and notes of encouragement are always welcome. If you need their address, please email me.

Jeff posted this comment late last week. I wanted to put it out for everyone to see, in case you don't check the comment section of the blog.

"Thanks to all of you and I mean all of you! Those that cook, cut the grass, donate to the Karin Carter Hope Fund, prayer warriors, cleaners, friends, relatives, brothers, sisters, cousins, moms and dads and tons of people I don't even know. I cannot express my appreciation! May God abundantly bless all of you, in Jesus' name.

Your my hero Karin!All the love in my heart."

Enola sent me this scripture this morning and I love it.

Ps. 138:7-8 says " Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You revive me; You stretched out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me; Your loving-kindness, O Lord, is everlasting, do not forsake the works of your hands!"

God is faithful. No dramatic changes to report as of right now. If more information becomes available I will post it.

The last 36 hours have been rough. I spoke with Enola about an hour ago and she said Karin has stabilized. God is faithful and He is doing amazing things in Karin and for Karin. He has provided Christian doctors and nurses. He has given her favor with the ICU staff. He has gone before her. Praise the Lord for his provision. Karin had a great visit with her children today. They were allowed to come in and out of the ICU and felt a part of their mother's care. Any of you that know anything about ICU know this does not happen. Children aren't even allowed, much less told they could come and go and come and go. That is the favor of the Lord.

Karin was put on a ventilator early this morning. The ventilator was originally set on 100% (meaning Karin is not doing any breathing on her own) when Enola left the hospital the ventilator was set on 55%. That is improvement and we'll take it!!!!

Please continue to pray for 100% physical healing of Karin's body. Pray for Jeff to get some good rest tonight. Pray that Salina and Noah would be at peace and feel the love of the Heavenly Father.

We continue to wait on the Lord and ask Him for MORE that we can think or imagine! We don't want Karin to just get over pneumonia, we want her healed of cancer too!

Karin continues to be stable. Please continue to hold her and her family up in prayer. God is BIG and He is in control.

Quick update: Last night Karin had a seizure around 6pm. Her heart rate was highly elevated. They did get her stablized and she was resting.

Please continue to pray for a miracle from God for Karin. Please also pray for the children and Jeff.

A couple of new developments. . .
Presently, Karin is at Kaiser Walnut Creek. This morning when she woke she had a fever and was unable to talk. She wanted to talk but her brain was not allowing her. Dr. Sattar hold told them if anything suddenly changed they should call 911 ASAP. That is exactly what they did. The ambulance came and picked her up at 7AM this morning. Jeff & Enola rode in the car behind the ambulance. Salina is in San Diego and Noah was home at the time and Chuck came to stay with him until Karin's sister came to pick him up.
At this point, they have confirmed she has pneumonia and had just left the room for a scan. They are giving her oxygen. They have also done blood work.
Also, another thing. At this point, Kaiser is unwilling to pay for Karin to have the Gamma Knife procedure at WA Hosp. I am not sure what the cost of having this procedure, and frankly, it does not matter. Jeff & Karin still want this procedure at WA Hosp. If you have considered giving to the Karin L. Carter Hope Fund, there is no time like the present. If you want to know more how to do that you can email me at bethey12@yahoo.com or call Jamie at 925-642-5444.

Please pray, pray, pray!!!!!!!!!! Pray for clear scans, pray for clean lungs, pray for a supernatural touch of the Heavenly Father.

PLEASE NO visitors!!!!

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40: 31

Please pray for God's strength for Karin today, both physically and mentally.

You guys are amazing! I just checked my email and Valerie has emailed me saying she only needs 7 hours filled for the 24/7 prayer!! AND, she has multiple people on several hours. Thank you!

Our resident Prayer Warrior, Valerie, wanted me to post that she is in need of 19 people to fill the rest of her spots for our 24/7 prayer. Again, you can email her at promises101@ comcast.net .

I spoke with Karin a little while ago and she said, "Did I tell you what Sattar (Oncologist) said yesterday while he was examining me?" She started crying and said, "He was feeling and pushing hard on my spine. When he was done he said, 'I can't find any nodules in your body.'" Karin told him that was all baby steps (to our miracle)!!! Now that is exciting. Thank you Lord!

For all you prayer warriors out there - we have an opportunity for you to use your gifting! Valerie, Karin's sister in law (Mark's wife) is putting together round the clock prayer for Karin. If you would like to be apart of this, you can email Valerie at promises101@comcast.net. You can work with Valerie to get a time for you to pray so we have 24 hour coverage. How awesome!
WA Hosp. called late last night to tell Karin that they had met about her case. Karin will go next Tuesday to meet Dr. Larsen and get all the information needed and then return on the 18th for the procedure.

Karin had an appointment today to see Dr. Sattar, her oncologist in Walnut Creek. That appointment was at 10:20 this morning. That appointment went well. Actually, Jeff said it was the best one yet. Amazing. The doctor gave Karin a nebulizer. This is a machine used to give asthma patients treatment while at home, this should help with the build up of mucous in the lungs that she is experiencing. Dr. Sattar said that he could not personally order the referral for Karin to go to WA. Hosp. next week but that a doctor (forgot his name) at Kaiser Sacramento could and he would start the ball rolling on that. Please pray that would happen. Also discussed was when Karin would be able to start taking chemo again. As it looks now, about a week after the Gamma is performed they will do blood work and, provided that all looks normal, she can do it at that time.
Jeff and Karin both sounded good today and in good spirits. Still waiting on Karin's strength to come around again. God is always on time though.
Again, WA Hosp. is meeting tonight at 5pm PST to discuss Karin's case, we are already in, but continue to pray that God would give the doctors wisdom when planning her treatment plan. Hopefully, we will hear more about the details of that tomorrow.

I got word a little while ago that Karin is officially accepted in the WA Hosp. Gamma Knife!! :) Her appointment for the procedure will be July 18th. Praise the Lord! The brain surgery appt. is officially canceled.

Fun News!
A friend of Jeff & Karin's, Martha, is planning a Comedy for a Cause night on August 9th at 8pm at Tommy T's in Pleasanton. Dinner can be purchased for an add'l charge, and that would be at 6pm. Tickets must be purchased through Martha & 100% of the profits will go directly to the Karin L. Carter Hope Fund. Do NOT purchase your tickets through the club, as the money will go to the Club and not the Hope Fund. Each ticket is $30. There are a limited amount of tickets so act quickly! You can contact Martha for more information at (925)314-2432

God is good!
I received an email early this morning (I live on the East Coast) from Jeff saying that he and Karin went to the Emergency room because she was short of breath. I had no idea what time they went to the hospital but I started to pray that it was nothing. About an hour later Jeff sent another email saying they were still there and Karin was asleep and they had done an MRI & CT Scan and were awaiting the results. I got on the phone and started calling people that I knew were awake at 6AM PST and getting them to pray for her. I just heard from Terri and Jeff & Karin just returned home and it is NOTHING. To be exact, it is build-up of mucus, not pneumonia or a tumor or anything. Praise the Lord! They do not know what has caused it but she has had a frog in her throat for some time know - mostly when I talk to her in the AM. Thank you Lord for the good report! When I told my 10 year old that Mrs. Carter was okay and the doctor said it was nothing, she said, "Hooray! That is better than what we prayed for!"
That is because of Eph 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us."

More good news on the horizon!
I have been hesitant to give any information about the upcoming brain surgery. As soon as it was decided that it was the route that they were going to take we were notified about Washington Hospital's new Gamma Knife machine. It is one of three machines in the world and it seems as though God is leading us there. Unofficially, they said that Karin is a candidate for treatment there but all the doctors meet on Weds. to discuss each patient. They will be meeting tomorrow at 5pm to discuss Karin. There are 9 tumors on her brain and the only one that is "borderline" is the large one on the top of her head that is causing the problems with the right side of her body. It may be too large to shrink, but if it is then later we can have it surgically removed. We are working with Kaiser to get them to refer Karin there. I don't think that will be a problem, but make it a matter of prayer. Also, it is a good possibility that they could treat Karin this week. It is outpatient and the procedure takes a couple of hours. I will attach an article about the machine at the end of this post. Also, UCSF would like to treat her as well with their Gamma Knife. That would be another good option but the equipment at Fremont is better. If Karin chooses to do Gamma this week, we will not do the brain surgery this week.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=drive_to_discover&id=5394114

Sorry. I know this is a lot of information in one post. Please just keep praying that God would go before them and they would have His favor with the doctors. Please also pray that they get some good sleep this afternoon. They were at the emergency room since 9pm last night and Jeff has not slept at all.

Just a quick praise report - Karin has been reading!!! Karin has not been able to read since the first radiation appointment. She said it made her head "rock". Anyway, yesterday she read some from the "Blessed Journey" book and today she was reading information about Gamma Knife that Jeff and I have collected. Thank you Lord!

I spoke with Karin and Jeff a little bit again and Karin is sounding well today. Last night, with Jeff's help she was able to walk around the house twice!! Praise the Lord! She said today she is getting walker and is going to walk again tonight. That is her spunk kicking back in!! God is good.
Please keep praying for her strength. The days go much better when she is able to be up and active. If you know Karin, you know she does not like any grass growing under her feet so for her to be immobile hurts.
Also, please, PLEASE, keep praying about the decisions being made for Karin's further treatment. We wait on the Lord for our Venti Miracle and at the same time pursue what medicine has to offer. Pray for wisdom.

Things have been quiet around the Carter's house. Karin and the gang made it to church today. Jeff is holding an open house at Tom and Terri's.
Please, please, continue to pray for Karin's strength. She is having a hard time doing a lot of things. Please also pray for her spirits. Pray that God would encourage her today. It has been a hard couple of weeks. Lastly, please continue to pray about/for the neurosurgeons and brain surgery & gamma knife.

This verse is for you Karin!
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40: 31

Are you still praying for Karin to get her strength back???? We still need those prayers going up for her.

Several of us are reading this book about a woman named Cindy who was HEALED from stage 4 Melanoma. It is such an awesome book and an easy read. Here is her website: http://www.ablessedjourney.com/ Get a copy of this book and check it out for yourself!

Opps. I have to correct myself. I said that Karin had a 6 week recovery after the surgery. What I meant to write was that Dr. Sattar said that it would be 6 weeks before Karin could no Chemo again.
The surgery itself is said to be very simple. Two hour surgery, with 2 days in the hospital and up and around at home within 2-4 days. Of course, we have a big God so we can pray differently! I know it sounds very scary to have brain surgery, but the doctor said that is really not the case anymore and the one tumor that they will be removing is easily accessible.
Sorry for the confusion.

Just a short post as not much is going on in the Carter's house. Johanna left on the 4th. Karin had a busy day on the 3rd. They went to Costco, Jamba Juice, Justice and one other place all in one afternoon. Karin said yesterday she was tired, probably from all the activity the day before.

We are still headed to brain surgery on the 13th of July. Pre-Op will be the 11th. Everything is looking good on that end. Continue to pray for peace as that day gets closer. Also, pray for a quick recovery. The doctor says about 6 weeks, so I say we ask for 3 weeks!!

Karin was able to make it to church yesterday, Praise the Lord! She took a good nap when she got home and felt well rested afterwards.

Johanna is staying with the Carters until the 4th. She and Salina and Karin all went for a pedicure today. Out two days in a row!!

Please keep praying for strength for Karin. Also pray for peace with the upcoming surgery & wisdom for Dr. Sheridan (the neurosurgeon). Continue to lift up the children. Pray for peace in their home and peace for the children.